Investment Research Company Signs for 30K SF at 4 WTC - Commercial Observer

Independent investment research provider Morningstar will move its New York City offices from Midtown to downtown in the middle of 2015 through a 10-year, 30,000-square-foot lease at 4 World Trade Center, Silverstein Properties announced today.

The company that currently operates out of a 7,500-square-foot office at 1065 Avenue of the Americas near Bryant Park will join the city government of New York, trade center site owner the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey and the MediaMath company at 4 WTC by taking space on the 48th floor of the award-winning 2.3-million-square-foot skyscraper designed by Fumihiko Maki, said Joe Mansueto, chairman and CEO of Morningstar.

“We’re excited to expand our footprint in New York by leasing space in such a beautiful building,” Mr. Mansueto said in a prepared statement. “We conducted an extensive search, and we love the building’s design. Moving Downtown allows us to double our capacity for staff in New York. We’ll design it like other Morningstar offices around the globe, with an open environment that reflects our culture and our commitment to transparency and collaboration. We look forward to hosting clients in our new space next year.”

Michael Liss of CBRE led the team representing Morningstar in the negotiations, while Jeremy Moss, director of World Trade Center leasing for Silverstein Properties, negotiated in-house on behalf of the World Trade Center leaseholder and 4 WTC developer, alongside a CBRE team that included Steve Siegel, Mary Ann Tighe, Adam Foster, Steve Eynon, Evan Haskell, Ken Meyerson and David Caperna. Tenants have now filled 56 percent of the 977-foot structure, according to Silverstein Properties.

“The new World Trade Center is open and great companies want to be here,” said Larry Silverstein, the chairman of Silverstein Properties, in a prepared statement. “After all the years of planning and building, the future has finally arrived at the World Trade Center, just as Lower Manhattan is reaching its full potential as the world’s most dynamic and modern live/work community.”

Since 2005, 511 firms, a total number that includes 226 creative or professional services companies, have migrated to Lower Manhattan, leasing a total of 12.3 million square feet, according to the Downtown Alliance. Asking rents for the space at 4 WTC run for $76 per square foot, sources close to the deal said.